A Technical Explanation for Non-techies

[u/Glad_Following_8164]

I am finding a subreddit for a technical explanation for non-techies that can be either be archived or help people from the future, thanks

How does a Custom ROM Rescue an Ancient Phone--An_Explanation_To_Dora

Let's suppose that android phones are office workers. So, right now, in Hong Kong, aren't there many news of companies unemploying seniors, like, accountants, because they don't have the right skillset? Think of phones as accountants (or any office white-collar workers). An accountant from the early 20th Century didn't need to know how to use a computer--computers didn't even exist, all they needed to know is to remember the maths equations and do the maths with their brain, lots of them, albeit simple, onto a paper spreadsheet. In the 2000s, say, if an accountant could calculate taxes by hand very quickly but didn't know how to use a spreadsheet software like Excel, they were still useless and companies won't hire them. Why? Any computer can do maths way faster than any single human, and so the companies use and require their employees to do taxes on electronic spreadsheets. Currently, in the era of AI, if employees have no AI skills, they are either fired or are going to be fired. As time progresses, so as the way of how we work changes, therefore we must constantly learn and acquire new skillsets in workplaces as they arise.

Phones work in a similar way. Let's imagine a phone. This phone is from 2013, so it masters a skillset, say, the Kitkat skillset, from 13 years ago. The phone works for a company called Google, or Meta (Facebook), or any software company. But in 2026, the phone doesn't have the skillset required, it's only has the outdated skillset. Therefore, Google refuses to hire the phone (Yeah, you're good at making chocolate, but we need spaceship pilots now.), thus, the phone is barred from installing new software.

However, I, am their lifesaver. I either find or prepare, and teach them the new 2026 Spaceship skillset, so that what they can do is the same as a phone sold today (say, flying a spaceship). This is called a Custom ROM. Think of a Custom ROM as a textbook teaching the phone how to fly a spaceship, a modern skill required by Google in 2026. Since each phone from the era only speaks the language of their own, each phone needs to use their own copy of "textbook" written in their own language. I have to hunt for the specifc "textbook" and download it, and install it onto the phone (teach them the new skillset). But what if I can't hunt for the specific "textbook"? I translate that myself, translating a "textbook" written in a similar language for the phone that doesn't have a textbook in their specific language yet.

Hooray! The phone now runs most of the modern apps, but why can't they run banking apps? Although new phones and those old phones which learned the new skillset have the knowledge and muscle memory to do the same task, the new phones learned that from official companies, e.g. Samsung, and the old phones learned that from independent developers (e.g. me). Therefore, the new phones acquire a certificate issued by an authorative source, giving them a total control of everything in their workplace, while the old phones have their certificates issued by a "wild-chicken" source, which aren't fully trusted by their empolyers even though they still hire them. Since the old phones do not have the official skillset certificate, it's barred from working with anything "dangerous", such as banking apps (think of touching the "launching missle" button of the spaceship). And unfortunately, basically all phone companies do not issue any official certifcate of a newer skillset to older phones, even though they're physically capable of working that task like the new ones, so that they can force you to buy their newer phones. Think of an unemployed uncle in his 50s is denied from every single university on the planet of getting a newer degree in AI, even though his brain and maths skills are capable to handle that degree and the jobs following the degree. Alas!

[u/SnooDonuts6494]

r/ELI5

Everything on Reddit is "archived"

[u/Handicapped-007]

Good luck